Pilot



H. Ni. PFLAGER PILOT Dec.v 1mm. l ,I "3g-,mam

Filed March 28 y1923 Patented lei, i923.

IVI. PFLAGER, OF ST. LOUS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOE TO CAST STEEL PILOT COM- PANY, OF ST. LOUS, IESSOURI, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PILOT.

Application filed May 28,

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, HARRY M. PFLAGER, a

citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Pilots, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application. My invention relates to railroad rolling stock and consists in an improved pilot mounting adapted to' be used on locomotives, electric cars, selt-propelled gas cars, or otherrailroad vehicles on which a pilot may be provided.

Y The objects or my invention are to acilitate application and removal of the pilot to and from the pilot beam or like frame member; to render the pilot easily movable to and from yits normal operating position;

to permit removal of a truck mounted neary front wheel of the locomotive to which they pilot is attached and the track upon which it runs. This ligure also shows the pilot moved to an inoperative position.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates a pilot beam diiiering slightly from that shown in Figures l and 2.

It will be understood that the locomotive frame is mounted upon several wheeled trucks, the iront one of which is indicated vat l and shown as traveling upon the rail 2 of a trackway. The front of the locomotive trame includes a pilot beam 3 extending across the front of the locomotive and pret erably, but not necessarily, formed of a onepiece casting provided with forwardly projecting lugs 4t arranged in pairs at intervals along the middle portion of the beam. The pilot 5 may be of any desired type, shape,

1923. Serial No. 641,989.

and construction, and is here shown as formed of a. one-piece casting provided with upwardly projecting members 6 upon its rear face located at intervals so that they may be inserted in between adjacent lugs l upon the ypilot beam. Lugs l and projections 6 each form knuckle elements of a hinge construction for mounting the pilot upon the pilot beam. This hinge construction is completed by the bolts 7 which serve as pintles and are secured in place by ordinary nuts, cotters or other retaining elements.

l have shown lugs et as provided with apertures 8 arranged above the apertures which receive the pintle bolts 7 and these apertures are provided 'for the purpose of lenabling the pilot to be mounted at a different height from that shown. lt, as suggested above, the spring rigging settles so as to reduce the distance from the pilot to the rail below the minimum allowed, the bolts 'l' may be removed and the pilot raised tar enough to permit the insertion of the bolts .7 through apertures 8.

The pilot is braced in its normal operating position by means of brackets 9 which are bolted to the pilot at l() and to the lower face of the beam at l1. yAdditional bolt openings 13 are provided in the pilot to accommodate bolts 10 when the pilotis raised as described above.

With my construction, the removal of bolts l1 through the beam and brackets 9 will enable the pilot to be swung to the dotted line position indicated in Figure l or thereabouts which will permit the front truck of the locomotive to be removed with a minimum of labor. When the pilot beam is againv returned to its normal operative position it is only necessary to attach bolts 11 to complete the operation. Heretotore it has been customary to attach the pilot to the front end of the locomotive jby means of numerous bolts and nuts passing in different directions through the pilot beam, and it has been customary to use washers and liners to make the parts register properly. In order to remove the front truck it was necessary to remove all these bolts and nuts, litt the pilot out of position and after the truck was replaced .to replace the pilot in position, apply all of the bolts and nuts, washersand shims, which is not always done rightly, so that the parts after being replaced I from the spirit of my invention asset vforth may not be in good operating condition.

f These disadvantages are eliminated by my improved construction. It will be understood that my invention may be embodied in builtup Abeams and pilots as well asin the uni'-v tary castings illustrated.

In Figure 3 I show a pilot beam in which the bracket 14, corresponding to one of the brackets 9 in Figures l and 2, isormedintegrally with the beam. This construction Vmay.bepreferable wherethe brackets are spacedapartiar enough topermit the truck to be moved between them.v

Other modifications in the `details/.olf con struction may be invade without departing inthe accompanying claims.

I claim: v '1. In a railroad vehicle, a frame, ,sup-

u porting wheels, and a pilot pivotally mounted thereon so as to Vbe swung vertically .as a unit `vout of theV horizontal 'plane or" said Wheels.

2. In a railroad vehicle, ahframe, a pilot vpivotally' mounted thereonq Y and means ,for

ladjusting vertically the pivotal ymounting of thepilot V`ABQ'In a railroad vehicle,a frame, 'pilot pivotally mounted thereon, and means for adjusting thepivotal mounting of the pilot to vary the height of its operative position. 4;. In af-railroad vehicle, a frame, a pilot `pivotally mountedthereon, at the upper Y portion of the pilot so that it may be` swung upwardly awayfrom the vehicle support.

5.In a railroad vehicle,y aframe, a pilot Lhinged'at spacedpoints along its upper eX- tremity to thek end portion of the frame so 'asl to swing in a vertical plane,;and means `for ysecuringv the pilot in operative position.

6. In a railroadfvehicle, ya wheeled truck,

. a frame supported thereby, a pilotso mount- Y navega@ ed on said frame adjacent to said truck that itmay ,be swung upwardly and away 'from v the latter to facilitate removal of the truck.

7. In a railroad vehicle, an Aunderframe including a pilot beam, a pilot -hingedto the iti-ont thereof and movable forwardly and upwardly about its hinge, and a de- "tachable connection between said beam and a part of. said pilot c spaced from its hinged point.

8. In a railroad vehicle -an underframe including a pilot beam having forwardly i projecting elements forming hinge knuckles, a pilot'liaving upwardly projecting elements forming cooperating hinge knuckles, remov-A able pintlesf for` connecting said knuckles,

latter. Y

9. In a` railroad vehicle, an undeiframe including a pilot beam having ,forwardly A projecting,elements forming hinge knuckles each 'of which has a .plurality-'of.pintlereyceiving apertures' located atfdiilerent heights, a pilot -having upwardly-.proj ecting elements forming cooperating. hinge knuckles, and-removable pintles for connecting saidrknuckles.

.10. In a `railroad.vehicle,"an underframe including a Ipilot'. Abeain ,having :forwardly projecting elements 'forming hinge knuckles cachot .whichihas a,plurality ,ofpintle rel :n.fM. ,PELAGER Yand a bracket for bracing said pilot .from :said beam ,and detachably :secured to the 

